For 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the annual median wage for healthcare administrators in Illinois is an above-the-national rate of $103,700. The cream of the crop, the top ten percent of administrators in the state, make over $205,000 a year.
The Health Care Council of Chicago finds that the Windy City alone generates $69.7 billion annually as of 2017, and is home to more than 26,000 healthcare related companies. That makes the entire region a hub for medical innovation and a center for advanced treatment that draws in both patients and healthcare professionals.
The Illinois Medical District, just outside the Loop, encompasses 560 acres of labs, medical research facilities, and hospitals… all of which require well-educated and capable administrators to hold together and sustain growth. As the demand for expertise grows, so do wages, both in Chicago and elsewhere in the state.
Job Growth Trends in Healthcare Administration
The Illinois Department of Employment Security finds that eight out of the top twenty fastest growing occupations in the state are healthcare related. And with more healthcare staff to supervise down the line, that translates into job growth for managers and administrators. The agency projects only a seven percent increase in medical and health service manager positions between 2016 and 2026. However, that amounts to 1,170 openings each year, a combination of newly created positions and turnover in existing roles.
Salaries for Illinois’s Healthcare Administrators According to Location
The Chicago area tops the state in the number of administrators employed, with more than 10,000 working in the region. Although their salaries are higher than those in the other top four areas of employment concentration in the state, for the best median wage Danville wins out at $118,180. In the top ten percent, Bloomington offers the highest salary with $174,820 annually.
Chicago-Naperille-Elgin
- 25th percentile: $85,410
- Median: $109,700
- 75th percentile: $143,700
- 90th percentile: $-
Peoria
- 25th percentile: $75,390
- Median: $95,610
- 75th percentile: $123,050
- 90th percentile: $166,670
Rockford
- 25th percentile: $68,940
- Median: $90,770
- 75th percentile: $119,190
- 90th percentile: $155,420
Springfield
- 25th percentile: $77,280
- Median: $101,490
- 75th percentile: $137,850
- 90th percentile: $-
Although Champaign-Urbana is technically larger than Springfield among Chicago cities tracked by BLS, data was not available there for 2018. The employment and salary data for the remainder of the Illinois BLS areas, both urban and rural, is shown below:
Salary and employment data compiled by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2018. Figures represent accumulated data for all areas of employment for medical and health services managers – https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_il.htm#11-9111.
BLS salary data represents state and MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) average and median earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
Job growth projections sourced from the Illinois Department of Employment Security and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2016-2026) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm.
All salary and job growth data accessed in June 2019.
